The Seven Lions of the Soul
Lions Gate 2025
I’m grateful for my life to date, every single experience has helped me step into my soveriegnty, my ownership of me!
Socrates said that, “An unexamined life is not worth living for human beings.” What I believe he meant was that we can live a better life if we know ourselves better and instead of being controlled by external circumstances we can create a life of our own choosing. Astrology is tool that we can utilise to understand ourselves better. I find it a fascinating subject and am passionate about sharing aspects of it that can help others deeply understand themselves and their natural propensities. Knowing these can help us integrate both the past and the present, and really get to know ourselves deeply.
In astrology we’re currently in Leo season which always happens in August. The exact start date depends on your location in the world and whether you follow the lunar or solar calendar. The ancients tracked the movements in the sky, using it as a technology to understand their world and left calendars carved in stone and painted on ceilings, you can see examples of these in Dendara and other ancient sites. (They will be covered in future musings)
So, let’s get on with exploring Leo and how it Refines Us Across Lifetimes!
We often hear that the lion is the king of beasts yet in Hebrew mysticism, the lion is far more than an emblem of strength. It is the guardian of the heart, the keeper of courage, and the measure of our soul’s maturity!
In Kabbalah, the lion is said to wear seven names in scripture, each a doorway into one of the seven stages of human evolution. These names are not simply labels but living archetypes, tracing the journey of the Leo force, that blazing solar fire of vitality and sovereignty as it refines itself through lifetime after lifetime. (Of course you would need to believe in reincarnation!)
The lion shows us that power is not given all at once!
It is entrusted to us in stages, tested in the shadow, and sanctified only when the heart remembers its true throne!
Why the Lion?
The Hebrew word for lion, aryeh (אַרְיֵה), shares its letters with the word for seeing, ra’ah, hinting that the lion grants vision, the ability to see with the heart. In the vision of Ezekiel, one of the four living creatures around the Throne of God bore the face of a lion, a sign that to approach the Divine Presence, we must learn to carry the lion’s fire with reverence.
Astrologically, the lion’s force belongs to Leo, which is ruled by the Sun. The Sun is the great heart of the cosmos, offering warmth, radiance, and life. Yet the same Sun that gives life can also scorch and burn if not handled wisely. This is why the Leo force must be tempered through the seven lion stages.
The Seven Lions and the Seven Stages of Evolution:-
1. Ari (אַרִי) — The Great Lion
• Stage: Birth of Power
• Teaching: The soul awakens to its own life-force. Here is vitality, charisma, and the will to create. Yet in its raw form, Ari can dominate rather than serve.
• Reflection: Where in my life am I mistaking power over others for true strength?
2. Lavi (לָבִיא) — The Young Lion
• Stage: Youthful Will
• Teaching: The soul begins to direct its energy. There is boldness, risk-taking, and the urge to make a mark. But ego still leads.
• Reflection: How can I refine my passion so that it inspires rather than intimidates?
3. Kefir (כְּפִיר) — The Lion Cub
• Stage: Innocence and Growth
• Teaching: Here the soul plays, tests, learns. Curiosity replaces conquest. The cub teaches us humility, that mistakes are holy stepping stones.
• Reflection: What would shift if I allowed myself to see mistakes as initiations rather than failures?
4. Shachal (שָׁחַל) — The Mighty Lion
• Stage: Encounter with the Shadow
• Teaching: The lion prowls in the dark. Pride, anger, and unchecked desire surface. This is the stage of meeting the inner beast.
• Reflection: Which shadow aspect of me is asking not to be slain, but transformed into sacred fire?
5. Layish (לָיִשׁ) — The Lion of the Wilderness
• Stage: The Sovereign Alone
• Teaching: The soul is tested in solitude. No audience, no crown, only the call to stand as one with the Creator.
• Reflection: Where am I being asked to step into sovereignty, even if it means walking alone for a time?
6. Shaḥatz (שַׁחַץ) — The Roaring Lion
• Stage: The Voice of Authority
• Teaching: The roar emerges not from ones ego but from ones heart. Here the soul learns to speak truth that liberates, not bind us.
• Reflection: How can my voice become a blessing rather than a weapon?
7. Lish (לִישׁ) — The Exalted Lion
• Stage: Divine Kingliness
• Teaching: The Leo force is fully sanctified. Leadership becomes service, power becomes love, and the lion lies down with the lamb. This is the Messianic heart, radiant and whole.
• Reflection: What would it mean for me to lead as love itself?
The Spiral of Lifetimes
All the sages remind us: we do not climb these stages in a single lifetime. Sometimes we circle back a lifetime spent as Kefir, another wrestling with Shachal. Some souls are asked to roar before they are ready; others learn silence in the wilderness before they can speak, BUT What matters is not how quickly we ascend, but how deeply we embody each stage.
For every lion we meet within ourselves is part of our becoming!
As a way of integrating these ancient teachings, here’s a simple practice for Living with the Lion Within
• Practice: Each morning, place your hand over your heart. Whisper the name of the lion you sense within you today. Ask what it longs to teach you.
• Contemplation: Write down the stage you feel you are in. Notice where the next lion is already approaching.
• Embodiment: Stand under the sun, close your eyes, and imagine a radiant golden mane unfurling from your crown. Breathe deeply, feeling the warmth in your chest. This is your reminder: your true throne is in the heart, your heart!
The Final Roar
so, the seven lions are not only symbols; they are a living map of our soul’s return to the Divine. Each name carries the breath of generations who walked before us, refining the Leonine force within them until love became their crown.
Perhaps you can feel the roar stirring in you now?
Perhaps you are meeting your shadow lion, or playing as the cub, or even standing sovereign in the wilderness? Wherever you are, know that it is holy!
For the lion’s journey is not about taming the beast, it is about remembering that the beast was always the guardian of the Throne.
An Invitation ~ If these words have stirred something deep in you? A sense of remembering? Of longing to embody your own lion’s heart? I’d love to invite you to walk this path with me. Together, we can explore how your soul’s evolution is unfolding now, how the Leo force moves through your life, and how you can step into the radiance that has always been yours.
You are not meant to carry this alone, you never were! The lion within you is ready to be seen, heard, and enthroned in love.